Posted on April 13th, 2009 at Visibility911’s new Activate function
To All Those Who Agree We Can’t Get 9/11 Truth Without the Internet!
We need to put pressure on S. 773. This bill has been introduced by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and the first assessment of the language is alarming. Among other things, this legislation would give the President of the United States the authority to “shut down” the Internet during a “national emergency” without providing any specifics on what that means.
See News Stories Here | See Full Bill Information Here
The Electronic Frontier Foundation describes the situation as follows:
There’s a new bill working its way through Congress that is cause for some alarm: the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 ( PDF summary here ), introduced by Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The bill as it exists now risks giving the federal government unprecedented power over the Internet without necessarily improving security in the ways that matter most. It should be opposed or radically amended.
Essentially, the Act would federalize critical infrastructure security. Since many of our critical infrastructure systems (banks, telecommunications, energy) are in the hands of the private sector, the bill would create a major shift of power away from users and companies to the federal government. This is a potentially dangerous approach that favors the dramatic over the sober response.
One proposed provision gives the President unfettered authority to shut down Internet traffic in an emergency and disconnect critical infrastructure systems on national security grounds goes too far. Certainly there are times when a network owner must block harmful traffic, but the bill gives no guidance on when or how the President could responsibly pull the kill switch on privately-owned and operated networks.
WHAT TO DO
The bill has been referred to the following committee: Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation . Contact each member on the committee personally and voice your concerns about the language in this bill. (When speaking to them, be aware that the Obama Administration did have a hand in crafting this language .)
See Full Bill Information Here or download official summary below.
There are 25 members on this committee, they include:
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See Full Bill Information Here
111th CONGRESS | 1st Session S. 773
To ensure the continued free flow of commerce within the United States and with its global trading partners through secure cyber communications, to provide for the continued development and exploitation of the Internet and intranet communications for such purposes, to provide for the development of a cadre of information technology specialists to improve and maintain effective cyber security defenses against disruption, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 1, 2009
Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, and Mr. NELSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To ensure the continued free flow of commerce within the United States and with its global trading partners through secure cyber communications, to provide for the continued development and exploitation of the Internet and intranet communications for such purposes, to provide for the development of a cadre of information technology specialists to improve and maintain effective cybersecurity defenses against disruption, and for other purposes.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (Summary) | 121.57 KB |